IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS?

This report by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and UNDP examines the progress of African nations in implementing and monitoring Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which focuses on peace, justice, and strong institutions. Based on a survey of 126 stakeholders across 38 countries and a review of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), the document highlights Africa's leadership in governance statistics and the challenges of funding and data accessibility, while showcasing innovative national practices in data sovereignty and multi-stakeholder engagement.

• African countries have shown significant leadership in the adoption and measurement of SDG 16, with 18 African nations volunteering to report at the 2019 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the largest-ever contingent from the region.
• While political commitment to SDG 16 is generally high, it often fails to translate into financial support; 66% of survey respondents identified a lack of adequate dedicated financial resources as a very problematic issue.
• There is a significant gap in the production of official data for SDG 16, with 53% of respondents stating their country cannot report on more than half of the 23 global indicators using national data.
• African nations are increasingly pursuing 'data sovereignty' to reduce reliance on external indicators, with some National Statistical Offices (NSOs) establishing dedicated governance units, such as Kenya's Governance Statistics Section.
• Many countries are adapting global SDG 16 targets to their national contexts, though often modestly; 60% of respondents reported such efforts, but most added only 1–3 national indicators.
• The use of non-state or unofficial data remains limited, with 46% of respondents stating that unofficial data is not used for reporting, despite the availability of reputable sources like Afrobarometer.
• Civil society involvement in SDG 16 processes is often perceived as formal rather than meaningful, with non-government respondents finding multi-stakeholder engagement less productive than government respondents do.
• Some countries have successfully integrated SDG 16 into national budgeting and planning; Ghana, for example, fully integrated the SDG framework into its budget to track financial priorities.
• Public accessibility of SDG 16 data is low, with only 25% of respondents stating that such data is easily accessible to the public, often existing only as PDF reports rather than interactive platforms.
• There is a risk that the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process is treated as an end goal rather than a tool for improvement, as none of the reviewed African VNRs mentioned plans for national debriefings after the HLPF.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS? https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS? 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS? |date=2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019africa, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{IS AFRICA MEASURING UP TO ITS GOAL 16 COMMITMENTS?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Special-Report_SDG16_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }